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Video shows smugglers testing remote-controlled submarine to transport drugs, Italian police say
Italian police announced Tuesday the seizure of a remote-controlled submarine likely intended to transport drugs as part of an international drug trafficking network, marking the discovery of a much smaller version of the so-called “narco subs” that are routinely spotted in international waters,
Investigators made the unusual discovery during probes into suspects based in Turin in northern Italy, who were cultivating marijuana under the cover of managing car wash stations.
“The traffickers had, amongst other things, designed and tested a small remote-controlled submarine, probably designed to transport the drugs,” a statement from the Carabinieri police said.
They released a video taken during surveillance operations showing the submarine, which is just a few meters long, operating on the surface of a body of water.
The network, headed by two brothers of Albanian origin, operated between Ecuador, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy, according to the same source.
The police reported seizing a total of 204 kilograms (450 pounds) of cocaine and hashish during the course of the investigation.
The cocaine most likely arrived in Italy from South America, passing through Holland, while the rest transported from Spain and France, using cars retrofitted with “homemade double floors,” the police said.
Much larger semi-submersibles, which cannot go fully underwater, are popular among international drug traffickers as they can often elude detection by authorities. The so-called “narco-subs” are sometimes seized in Colombian waters while heading to the United States, Central America and Europe. Â
The Colombian Navy said it intercepted at least 20 semi-submersibles in 2023, leading to the seizure of 30 tons of cocaine and more than five tons of marijuana.Â
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Legendary TV icon Betty White will be honored in 2025 with a stamp, the U.S. Postal Service announced on Friday.
The “Golden Girls” and “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actor “shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades,” the news release from the USPS read.
U.S. Postal Service
“The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals,” the USPS said.
The image of White, who died in 2021, was created based on a 2010 photograph, the USPS said. The USPS said the list of new stamps released on Friday is a partial one, with additional stamps to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
“This early glimpse into our 2025 stamp program demonstrates our commitment to providing a diverse range of subjects and designs for both philatelists and stamp enthusiasts,” said Lisa Bobb-Semple, stamp services director for USPS.
White launched her TV career in daytime talk shows when the medium was still in its infancy and endured well into the age of cable and streaming. Her combination of sweetness and edginess gave life to a roster of quirky characters in shows from the sitcom “Life With Elizabeth” in the early 1950s to oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” in the ’80s to “Boston Legal,” which ran from 2004 to 2008.
White died in December 2021. She was 99 and just a few weeks shy of what would have been her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.
When asked how she had managed to be universally beloved during her long career, White summed it up with a dimpled smile: “I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
The USPS said it will also honor pianist and composer Allen Toussaint, who died in 2015 at the age of 77.
